ONLINE – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) will be hosting two webinars on September 28, 2017 to unpack the details of the proposed new structure for Synod, which will be voted on during LCC’s upcoming national convention in October.

The webinar is a joint production of LCC’s Commission on Constitutional Matters and Structure (CCMS) and the Board of Directors (BOD), who in July agreed to work together to prepare a final restructuring proposal for the consideration of the convention.

LCC’s First Vice President Nolan Astley will be the presenter for the webinars, with CCMS Chairman William R.A. Ney helping to lead discussion. “The new structure we are recommending Lutheran Church–Canada adopt takes into account two years of consultation at the grassroots level,” explained Rev. Ney. “We hope that this presentation will help convention delegates and LCC members more widely to get a clearer understanding of the structure we are proposing, and how it will better serve the needs of our church body moving into the future.”

Vice President Astley agreed. “Our focus with these webinars is to help delegates better understand the restructuring plan before them—to make sure everyone understands clearly what they are being asked to vote upon,” he said. “For that reason, the sessions will be focused primarily on unpacking the details of the proposed structure, with debate and decision-making on the proposal reserved for the convention itself.”

The first presentation will take place September 28 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m (CDT). The second presentation option is from 8:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. (CDT). Register to attend here. Video from the presentation will be uploaded at a later date.

Earlier this month, the joint working group published the results of their work. The proposed new structure is also included in a recently released supplement to the convention workbook.

The upcoming webinars can be viewed from a variety of devices, including smart phones and computer. Participants also have the option to listen to audio by phone rather than through their computer system (this option is made available when you join the webinar, along with an access code.)

Attendees are strongly encouraged to ensure their system meets basic system requirements for the live-stream well in advance of the actual meetings. You can do so by visiting this “Get Ready for Your First Webinar” page, which will test your system to ensure you’re ready to run the online convocation. The same page also allows you to join a Test Session to familiarize yourself with the system and to ensure settings like audio are properly configured. You will also find troubleshooting advice should you experience any technical problems. You can find details about attending via smart phone and general system requirements here.

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Lutheran Church–Canada President Robert Bugbee has issued the following note to convention delegates on recent materials shared by LCC. You can also download the letter as a pdf here.

Friends in Christ,

A helpful colleague wrote last weekend seeking clarity about materials shared with delegates (and with the wider church) in recent weeks. The concern was that, in the flurry of documents, it might all be a bit confusing. So I’ll try briefly with these lines to make a few things clearer:

The Convention Workbook, which you received in early August, is the usual collection of reports from officers of the Synod, boards, commissions, auxiliary organizations, etc. It also includes the original batch of “overtures,” that is, requests from congregations and other entities that the Convention take a certain action.

The Workbook Supplement, sent out on September 15, is really “Workbook—Volume 2”. We’ve never had this before. It was needed because of our delayed schedule of a Convention in October rather than the usual June. As a result of this later Convention, many typical deadlines fell in the summer. In the Workbook Supplement you will find an expanded report, for example, from the LCC Board of Directors. You’ll also find an extra batch of overtures that came in from congregations, a District Board of Directors, as well as from the Commission on Constitutional Matters and Structure (CCMS) and LCC Board of Directors (BOD). The CCMS included also the texts of the amendments it is proposing to the LCC Handbook – in other words, to the Statutory Bylaws, Constitution and Synodical Bylaws as the CCMS’ recommended way of restructuring our church. Finally, the Workbook Supplement contains as a resource document the version of the Act and Bylaws proposed some months ago. The CCMS wants delegates to understand that this resource document is no longer their recommended means of accomplishing the restructuring of our Synod, but it was included as a courtesy, since it is referred to in a late overture from Faith Lutheran Church in Saskatoon. The “Foreword” page of the Workbook Supplement will provide an overview.

Soon you will receive the first edition of Today’s Business, which will publish the recommended actions of the Resolutions Committees which met September 8-9. In other words, these resolutions are what the Committees propose the Convention should do with the various overtures contained in the Convention Workbook and its Workbook Supplement.

“What should I read to prepare?” Ideally, you ought to read as much of the Convention Workbook and the Workbook Supplement as you possibly can to be “up to speed” for the Convention. To be sure, the proposed changes to the Handbook (in the CCMS overtures) may seem tedious. This is why there is a side-by-side comparison between the present Handbook and the proposed changes, sometimes including a little explanation on the right to explain why a specific change is being recommended.

One other thing: Last Tuesday, September 12, an “Official Notice” went out to all the members of the
Synod (pastors, deacons and congregations). You do not need to read this, because everything it
contains is already included in the Workbook Supplement. This communication was sent because the
Handbook requires a 30-day advance notice to the church before changes can be made to the Statutory
Bylaws located in the LCC Handbook. And this notice was sent to all members on the Synodical roster,
not just to Convention delegates.

I hope this helps a little bit for your preparations. I treasure your prayers and “homework” as our days
together in Kitchener draw near.

Sincere greetings in Christ,

Robert Bugbee, President
Lutheran Church-Canada

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CANADA – Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) has released a supplement to the 2017 Convention Workbook.

The supplement contains additional overtures for Committee 1, including overtures from the Commission on Constitutional Matters and Structure and the Board of Directors proposing amendments to restructure the Synod. It also includes an overture from the Commission on Theology and Church Relations, proposing that LCC declare altar and pulpit fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF).

The supplement also includes an appeal from the voting lay delegates of the Saskatoon Circuit; corrections to the original Convention Workbook, including changes to overtures submitted by the East District Board of Directors; resource documents including the full text of proposed Handbook amendments; and a supplemental report from LCC’s Board of Directors expanding on the earlier report in the original Convention Workbook.

Download the supplement here.